Mango Madness!!!

It's mango season in Bombay, and I'm loving it!!! It's also melon and grape season which is even better! It's amazing how fruit acts as such an identifier here for a change in season. The fruit-wallas (walla = worker... taxi-walla, dude-walla (milkman)...) roll around their wooden carts or carry their baskets on their heads, and like a tidal wave, the new crop rolls in and the old crop disappears. In the winter, guava was definitely my favorite fruit, and you could smell that intoxicating sweet scent around every corner, with little green balls waiting to greet you, sometimes 5 carts in a row. But now you'd be hard pressed to find a single guava. It's very different from back home, where you find most fruit year-round, since most of it is imported. And therefore we miss out on the thrill of following fruit through the seasons; the excitement of seeing mangoes slowly invading every stall, or watermelon towers being built like small fortresses.

Actually, over 70% of India's population still works in agriculture and it still controls much of the economy. On my recent trip I was on a bus going from Kajuraho to Orchha, and had a very interesting conversation with the elderly man sitting next me. It went something like this:

"Where are you from?"
-Canada
"Is your father in service or agriculture?"
-ummm... service
"So he does not own any agricutural land?"
-no
(confused look on the man's face)
"What are the major crops of your country?"
(embarassed look on my face for not really knowing the answer)
-i'm not really sure but i think wheat, corn and other grains
"When do you harvest them?"
-I think ususally in october (with sukkot and halloween as my only real clue)

It was a really funny conversation, because he actually expected me to know the answers to these questions. How often do you discuss agriculture with someone in the West? We are so disconnected from the food we eat and the food that is being grown in our country. All we know is IGA, Provigo, Loblaws... cash or credit. It's quite interesting actually. And frankly a little scary.

O.k. that's my thought for the day. If you haven't figured it out yet, I am back in Bombay and back at work. It gets hotter and hotter every day, but my body is slowly adjusting. I have moved into a new apartment with my friend Isabel. All the other volunteers from my group left. It's weird being here without them, but kind of nice, since now I feel more idependent. My new apartment is much more comfortable, and for some reason, I am feeling much more comfortable spending time alone. The other apartment was big and cold and when no one was home, it felt so empty. Where you live really has an effect on your emotional well being.

Work is going really well. While I was away the project really took off and now we are collaborating with another NGO to create a health information system, under the rubric of a community GIS which the other NGO is planning. I set the whole thing up, and it's an amazing feeling to see that it's all coming together. Dr. Shanti keeps telling me none of this would have happened had I not been here... I really feel good about it.

For those who keep asking... I leave India on July 7 to go to Israel and I return to Montreal on August 10 after a quick stop in Germany to see Ali and Ari.

O.k., off to have my second mango of the day... mmmmmmmm!!!

I'll enjoy it doubly for all of you!

kisses, nams